


Say Me, Say You

by willswheelsonthebus



Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, Gay Mike Wheeler, Gay Will Byers, M/M, Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers, Period-Typical Homophobia, Will Byers Loves Mike Wheeler, basically a poser lol jk, but he's to clumsy to actually do it, max got him into it, mike wears the style, they're like 16 here, this is just really soft, will's a skater now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24509875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willswheelsonthebus/pseuds/willswheelsonthebus
Summary: After two years of boarding, you'd think Will would be used to falling by now. Then why is it he's always still getting surprised by Mike after all the years he's known him? Falling for a guy like that, well a guy might just could...
Relationships: (Past) Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Say Me, Say You

Will’s skint knees are on display; his rolled up jeans bare a new tear in the right cuff. Hazards of a skateboarder. He’ll just try to sneak it by his mom without her noticing later, then pass it off as an old pair. His red sneakers squeak against the pavement as he hops back on his board. Just as he flips an ollie, there’s the sound of shoes walking up behind him, startling Will out of his focused state.

“I thought I’d find you here.” Will’s back is still turned, but as he hears the voice his tense shoulders deflate.

He faces the other person and smiles, face breaking out into a huge grin. “Mike!”

The other boy is tall, lanky and has a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose, with wild, dark curls, ever since he let the untamed mass of swirls grow out. He has dark, smoldering eyes, a soft, but intense brown Will would say. Mike is still growing into his teenage features, his ever growing body and Will is completely in love with him, regardless of the fact.

“Hey! I- Oh, ouch! Did you wipe out? Bring bandages?” Will blushes as Mike starts fussing over him, making him sit and get out his emergency pack.

“You do know my mom, right?” They share a look and a smile. “Of course I did. Kinda ruins the whole bad-ass skater image, but-”

“Aw, come on, I think you’re bad-ass!” Mike nudges his shoulder then reaches into the pack, grabbing band-aids and antiseptic ointment.

“This might sting a bit. Or, uh a lot.” 

“Ha. Ha.” Will rolls his eyes and pretends to be unamused.

The first bit of ointment that Mike presses into his skin does, in fact, sting. He doesn’t wince or grimace but instead looks to Mike’s face while he diligently applies it, then carefully places bandages over the scrapes. Mike looks thoughtful while he works on the task, his administrations ever so meticulous and gentle. Will waits patiently, in awe as Mike seems to take such a small thing to heart. 

Why? He’s always patching him up, always there when Will needs to vent through some emotion he’s feeling. He’s just always there beside him with a smile on that stupid, pretty, freckled face. Will’s starting to get mixed messages. Or is he? Because the signals Mike’s been sending since they were thirteen seem pretty clear, actually. Maybe it’s just Will who doesn’t know how to read the messages Mike’s been trying to send. Maybe he’s been too scared to.

“Ok, all done.” Will is broken out of his thoughts by the sound of Mike, looking up to see him flash his pearly whites, almost a bit self consciously. He looks handsome in this light, the sun behind him casting a glow around his body and turning his cheeks slightly pink, or perhaps something else is the cause of that. His hand is still on the side of Will’s knee and he make’s no move to remove it now.

“Thanks. What would I do without you?” He almost tacks “man” onto the end, but he makes a conscious effort not to. He’s trying something new this time. And if it works, then great! And if not, well it’s only his entire lifelong friendship he could be ruining, right?

“Oh, probably be completely lost, duh.” It’s said as a joke, but Will knows more than anything how true that is. 

“Yeah y-

“I-”

They both chuckle awkwardly for a moment. 

“You go!”

“Oh, no you!” Mike looks slightly nervous and maybe a little scared now, so Will decides to spare him. He’s gonna do it.

He takes a breath. Releases. “Mike, I- Well, I guess I just wanted to talk about how I’ve been feeling.” Mike’s face changes from embarrassed to concerned now, but Will just holds a hand up and he waits. “Don’t Worry. It’s not like that or anything.” A small smile lifts the corners of his cheeks. “For a long time, really long- I think since third grade maybe even, I’ve felt this way. It’s just hard-” here, Will loses courage and Mike, feeling his friend in need of some bravery, puts his hand on Will’s, squeezing. 

“Sorry. I meant that... It’s hard for me to tell you-” Mike tilts his head to the side, almost like a puppy and Will can’t help himself, he has to smile. “That I like you.” 

Nothing happens for the first five seconds. Mike doesn’t yell or punch him or call him names or run away, which should be a good sign. But he doesn’t say anything and Will holds his breath for the whole five seconds. He just keeps holding Will’s hand, but then those five tortuous seconds are over (Will counted) and he does something strange and altogether lovely. He squeezes Will’s hand, and then in Will’s pure and radiant joy, he does all he can think to do, which is of course to squeeze back.

Mike looks up at him and his eyes are definitely wet. Is that a good or bad sign? Will can’t decipher it because of the way Mike’s looking at him. He’s never looked at anyone that way, but those eyes are for him only in this moment. Then there’s the fact that they’re still grasping at each other's hands, somehow even tighter now. 

And then, Mike’s mouth finally opens and words just start flying out. “Well, it’s about time.”

Will does a blink. “H-huh?”

“I’ve been waiting around long enough, don’t you think?”

“Uh-”, Mike doesn’t give him time to answer though.

“Since we were thirteen! Thirteen, Will! I’ve been throwing out feelers to you left and right! I tried stepping up my game, even. You just asked me if I was sick or somethin’!” He pauses to take a breath. Will is mesmerized. How had he never seen it before? He was so caught up in his own self-loathing that he couldn’t see the pain that his best friend and love of his life was going through.

“I’m so sorry, Mike. I never saw what you were dealing with. I mean, I thought it was jus-”

“Thought it was just you? No way, dude. I’ve been in love with you since fifth grade. All I ever wanted was for you to notice me in that way, but I hated it at the same time, hated myself for feeling that way. You know my dad.” Will does. Will’s dad may be a prick of the first-degree, but at least he isn’t around to say and do the kind of things that hurt Will anymore. The same can’t be said for Mike. His dad voted Reagan for goodness sake! He was always on about _‘Those jeans’ll turn you into a queer’_ or _‘I’ll have no son acting like a damn hippie’._ Will squeezes his hand again in what he hopes to be a comforting gesture.

Mike grabs his other hand in return. “Why do you think I tried dating El?” he snorted and kept going. “’Tried’ being the keyword. Didn’t exactly work out, you know with me being-”, He looked around before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially, “Gay and all.” 

“I love you!” Will shrinks again, realizing what he’s just said aloud, no matter how true it may be.

Mike’s eyes are wide as they stare at him, round and globe-like. “Really? I love you too.”

It’s a soft moment and caught in it as they are, they both lean forward slowly with hands held tightly. Will can just feel the slightest graze of Mike’s lips against his own when they hear the sound of a motor rattling its way up the road. Their eyes jolt open and they scoot apart as fast as they can, looking at each other and bursting out in mirth as the car rattles past them an on down the road. When it’s quiet again and they’re sure no one is around, they push themselves back together until their feet are touching. Mike interlocks his pinky with Will’s and all feels right again. 

Mike starts to hum some tune. It’s a familiar one and it makes Will ache in a heart-stopping kind of way. Their cheeks are both tinted. They could lie and say it’s the sun, but it seems the only lie they’ve ever told each other is no problem any more and why start now? The tune Mike hums is picking up now but it slows again and just because he can, because he’s in love and he’s happy, Will sings along.

_**“Say you, say me say it for always  
That's the way it should be”** _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my fic! It's up on my tumblr if you wanna go check it out (there's even a moodboard to go with it)!  Give kudos and comment if you wanna!


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